Aretha Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist who is referred to as the “Queen of Soul“. She was one of the best-selling female artists of all time with global sales of over 75 million records and had been listed twice on the ‘100 Greatest Artists of All Time‘ and ‘100 Greatest Singers of All Time‘ lists in Rolling Stone magazine.
Initially, her father recognized her talent for singing and started to manage her from the time she was 14, trying to get her a deal with a record company. She was signed for the first time by Columbia Records. Some of her hit songs include “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”, “Respect”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, “Chain of Fools”, “Think”, and “I Say a Little Prayer”. She then continued to record acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976). Aretha also appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers before releasing the successful albums Jump to It (1982), Who’s Zoomin’ Who? (1985), and Aretha (1986).
Her other well-known songs include “Ain’t No Way”, “Call Me”, “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)”, “Spanish Harlem”, “Rock Steady”, “Day Dreaming”, “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)”, “Something He Can Feel”, “Jump to It”, “Freeway of Love”, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” and “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (a duet with George Michael). Franklin won 18 Grammy Awards (out of 44 nominations), including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1968–1975), a Grammy Awards Living Legend honor, and a Lifetime Achievement Award.
How did Aretha Franklin die?
Aretha Franklin died at her home on August 16, 2018. She dies at 76. The cause of death was a malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET), which is distinct from the most common form of pancreatic cancer.
On August 13, 2018, she was reported to be gravely ill at her home in Riverfront Towers, Detroit. She was under hospice care and surrounded by friends and family. Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson, and former husband Glynn Turman visited her on her deathbed.
Numerous celebrities in the entertainment industry and politicians paid tribute to Franklin, including former U.S. President Barack Obama who said she “helped define the American experience”. A memorial service was held at New Bethel Baptist Church on August 19.
Among those who paid tribute to Aretha at the service were Ariana Grande, Bill Clinton, Rev. Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, Faith Hill, Fantasia, the Clark Sisters, Ronald Isley, Angie Stone, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Holliday, Loretta Devine, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Shirley Caesar, Shirma Rouse, Stevie Wonder, Eric Holder, Gladys Knight, Cedric the Entertainer, Tyler Perry, Smokey Robinson, Yolanda Adams, and Rev. Dr. William Barber II.
How did Aretha Franklin get famous?
- Aretha Franklin is a singer, songwriter, and pianist.
- Aretha has twice been placed ninth in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
- She is famous for her songs “Respect” (1967), “I Say a Little Prayer” (1968), “Chain of Fools” (1967), and “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” (1973).
Who are the Parents of Aretha Franklin?
Aretha Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, with the birth name of Aretha Louise Franklin. She was from Memphis, Tennessee, the USA. She was the daughter of her father, Clarence LaVaughan ‘C.L.’ Franklin, and her mother, Barbara Siggers Franklin. Her father was a Baptist preacher, and her mother was a gospel singer. She grew up with her three siblings in a Christianity religious family. Two of her sisters – Carolyn and Erma were also singers.
At age 5, her family relocated to Detroit, Michigan where her father founded a Baptist church. At age 6, her parents split because of her father’s infamous promiscuity. Her mother then moved to Buffalo. At age 10, her mother died of a heart attack on March 7, 1952, due to which her grandmother and aunts took care of her and her siblings. Her father at that time was known as the man with the ‘million-dollar voice’. Franklin then began to learn how to play the piano on her own. Her earliest songs were recorded at the church when she was 14. Moreover, she also used to sing on the revival tours of her father.
Franklin held American nationality whereas she belonged to the American-African ethnicity. Her zodiac sign was Aries as per her birthdate. For the last time, Franklin celebrated her 76th birthday on March 25, 2018. About her education, Franklin attended public school in Detroit, going through her freshman year at Northern High School, but dropping out during her sophomore year.
How did Aretha Franklin start her career?
- Franklin, at age 12, her dad began managing her and would take her on the road with him, during his “gospel caravan” tours for her to perform in various churches. He also helped her to get a recording deal with J.V.B. Records.
- In 1956, J.V.B. released Franklin’s first single, “Never Grow Old”, backed with “You Grow Closer”. “Precious Lord (Part One)” backed with “Precious Lord (Part Two)” followed in 1959. The four tracks with the addition of “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood”, were released on side one of the 1956 album, “Spirituals.”
- In 1965, Checker Records released “Songs of Faith” featuring the five tracks from the 1956 Spirituals album. She was only 14 when “Songs of Faith” was recorded.
- In 1960, Franklin was signed by Columbia Records after she persuaded her father to let her record pop music. Her first Columbia single, “Today I Sing the Blues” was released in the same year and reached the Hot Rhythm & Blue Sellers Chart.
- In 1961, her debut pop album “Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo” was released via Columbia records. The album was an instant hit with American listeners and the hit single ‘Rock-a-bye’ catapulted her into an international star.
- In 1962, Columbia issued two more albums, “The Electrifying Aretha Franklin” and “The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin”.
- By 1964, she began recording more pop music, reaching the top 10 on the R&B chart with the ballad “Runnin’ Out of Fools”, in early 1965. She had two R&B charted singles in 1965 and 1966, with the songs “One Step Ahead” and “Cry Like a Baby” while also reaching the Easy Listening charts with the ballads “You Made Me Love You” and “(No, No) I’m Losing You”.
- She also appeared on shows like Hollywood A Go-Go during the time period.
- In 1967, she signed to Atlantic Records and released “I Never Love a Man the Way I Love You” which topped the R&B chart and the Billboard Hot 100 with hit singles like: “Do Right Woman, Do Right man”, “Respect” and more.
- Her debut Atlantic album, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You”, also became commercially successful, later going gold.
- In the year 1968, she released her albums “Lady Soul” and “Aretha Now” with Atlantic Records, giving hit singles such as “I say a Little Prayer”, “Think, and more.
- During the 1970s, she released albums “Spirit in the Dark”, “Young, Gifted & Black”, “Hey Now Hey”, “You”, “Sweet Passion”, “Almighty Fire”, “La Diva” and more. She later left the company in 1979.
- In 1980, after leaving Atlantic Records, she signed with Clive Davis’s Arista Records. Her first Arista album, “Aretha” was released in 1980. The follow-up, 1981’s Love All the Hurt Away, included her famed duet of the title track with George Benson.
- Franklin then released the album “Jump to It” in 1982. The following year, she released “Get It Right”, produced by Luther Vandross.
- She also provided vocals to the theme songs of the TV show “A Different World and Together”.
- She also released her first gospel album, titled “Amazing Grace” and in 1987, she issued her third gospel album, “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism”, which was recorded at her late father’s New Bethel church, followed by “Through the Storm” in 1989.
- Her 1991 album “What You See is What You Sweat” flopped on the charts. In 1989, Franklin filmed a music video for a remake of “Think”. In 1990, she sang “I Want to Be Happy”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, and “Someone Else’s Eyes” at the MDA Labor Day Telethon.
- In 1995, she was selected to play Aunt Em in the Apollo Theater revival of The Wiz. Her next album “A Rose Is Still a Rose” was released. It sold over 500,000 copies, earning gold certification. She also appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
- From the year 2004 until 2009, Franklin released albums such as “So Damn Happy”, “Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen” and “This Christmas, Aretha”.
- From the year 2010 until 2013, she recorded an album under her own label, “Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love”.
- In 2014, Franklin was signed under RCA Records. Her cover of “Rolling in the Deep” was featured among nine other songs in her first RCA release, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, released in October 2014. Doing so, she became the first woman to have 100 songs on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with the success of her cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”, which debuted at number 47 on the chart.
- Franklin released the album A Brand New Me in November 2017 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Later, she canceled some concerts in 2017 due to health reasons, and during an outdoor Detroit show. At the Ravinia Festival on September 3, 2017, she gave her last full concert.
- Her final public performance was at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City during Elton John’s 25th-anniversary gala for the Elton John AIDS Foundation on November 7, 2017.
Who was Aretha Franklin married to?
Aretha Franklin was a married man. She first became a mother after she gave birth to her first son when she was not even 13. She named him Clarence after her father but Franklin never mentioned the name of his father. As per the site Inquisitr, “The father of the child was Donald Burk, a boy she knew from school”. In one of her handwritten wills, Franklin revealed that the father of her first child was Edward Jordan. Her second son, Edward, was born two years later in 1957 and she named him after his father Edward Jordan. Both Clarence and Edward were raised by their grandmother and sister.
Franklin then married Ted White in 1961 and she gave birth to her third son, Ted White, Jr. Later, Franklin and Ted split and divorced in 1969. In 1968, her fourth son, Kecalf, was born. His father is Ken Cunningham, Aretha Franklin’s former manager. In 1978, she married actor Glynn Turman. The couple divorced in 1984. Franklin announced her plans to marry Willie Wilkerson but called it off immediately. She was single at the time of her death. Her sexual orientation was straight.
How much was Aretha Franklin’s Net Worth?
Aretha Franklin was a singer, songwriter, and pianist whose net worth was estimated to have $80 million at the time of her death. During her career, she released several songs and albums. She is one of the best-selling artists of all time. She has sold more than 75 million albums around the world.
The singer made her annual salary in millions of dollars from her professional career as a singer. By the mid-1960s, Franklin was making $100,000 per year from countless performances in nightclubs and theaters. Her main source of welath was from the music industry and she lived a lavish lifestyle. She also owned a huge property in her name as well as she had bought a few cars during her lifetime.
How tall was Aretha Franklin?
Aretha Franklin was a beautiful woman with a height of 5 feet 5 inches or 1.65 m or 165 cm. Her body weight was 79 KG or 174 lbs. Her bra size was 35B and she had a body measurement of 35-38-42 in. She wore a shoe size of 6 US. She had a pair of dark brown eyes and her hair color was black.
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